KL - BEST SHOPPING CENTRE IN ASIA PACIFIC

Kuala Lumpur is the second best shopping city in Asia Pacific, according to the latest Globe Shopper Index, cementing its position as a shopping paradise. Twenty-five cities in the region were assessed under five categories shops; culture and climate; hotels and transport; affordability; and convenience.

Kuala Lumpur achieved the second highest overall score of 65 out of 100. Only Hong Kong scored higher 68.5 edging other cities for its safety, dependable city transport and variety of shops and brands. Shanghai was third with a 63.1 score with Beijing placed fourth at 60.7.Singapore (60.2) and Bangkok (57.1) were ranked fifth and seventh respectively. The other big cities ranked included Sydney (58.4), Tokyo (56.4) and Seoul (54.8).

“Kuala Lumpur’s specific strength is its ability to combine low prices with a good range of products in a large number of stores, including three of the world’s 10 biggest shopping malls,” the index report stated.

The report predicted that Kuala Lumpur had the potential to perform better in future indexes due to the Government’s efforts to promote retail tourism. It also took note of the Government’s mammoth investments in developing KLCC and Bukit Bintang as a “premier shopping precinct in Malaysia”.

Unfortunately not much has been done  to put local products on the shelf of these outlets. Branding and other marketing elements may be the reason for this, but enabling local products take place at the shelves is the responsibility of all shopping complex owners as part of the CSR.

We believe that local products must be give a fair share of  the tourism market and by doing so assist them to improve branding and bottom line of their businesses.

FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE

TOURISM Malaysia wants a bigger share of the Russian outbound market and is aiming to grow visitor numbers from Vladivostok and Khabarovsk in the Russian Far East as well as Novosibirsk, the administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast.

According to Datuk Haji Azizan Noordin, deputy director-general (planning), Tourism Malaysia, the NTO is in discussions with charter operators and travel consultants to schedule charters from these cities to Langkawi and Kota Kinabalu this coming winter.

The NTO will provide outbound agencies with joint marketing support, while Malaysia Airports, which manages most of the airports in Malaysia, has agreed to waive aircraft landing fees to encourage more chartered flights, he added.

From January to June 2012, Malaysia received 24,198 Russian tourists, a 28.2 per cent year-on-year increase.

In an unrelated development, Azizan told TTG Asia e-Daily that Tourism Malaysia was planning to upgrade its marketing office in Almaty, Khazakhstan, into a full-fledged regional office next year. First established in 2007, the office will be tasked with overseeing promotions throughout Central Asia.

FACES OF 1MALAYSIA

Tourism promotion can be better done by other Ministries. A good example would be the event in London officiated by Dr Rais Yatim, the Information Minister.

Up to 154,300 people visited Malaysia Week 2012 at South Bank here in the two days since the event to promote Malaysia was launched on Saturday.

 

Deputy Secretary-General (Culture) of the Malaysian Information, Communications and Culture Ministry, Datuk Abdul Ghaffar A. Tambi, said the number of visitors exceeded the 150,000 target set for the five-day programme scheduled to end on Wednesday.

 

"We are very happy (with the turnout) as it was a weekend and the weather was good. On the first day, Saturday, we recorded 74,300 visitors.

 

"More people came yesterday (Sunday) and that there were about 80,000. The total figure for the two days exceeds our target (for the five-day programme)," he told Malaysian journalists covering the event, here, on Monday.

 

The event, organised jointly by the Information, Communications and Culture Ministry, Tourism Ministry and Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade), was launched by Malaysian Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim on Saturday.

 

Malaysia Week, which carries the theme 'Faces of 1Malaysia', promotes to the international community Malaysia's culture, heritage and the different ways of life which reflect a life of unity in diversity.

 

The activities include cultural performances and martial arts depicting the 1Malaysia concept, demonstration and sale of craft, exhibition and sale of works of visual arts, modelling of fashion and textile, and Malaysian traditional games.

MOVING TO KLIA2 OR NOT

The tourism industry is extremely worried over the remarks by AirAsia Malaysia CEO that the decision to move to KLIA2 will be based on whether the new airport is safe and functional and can facilitate the carrier’s low-cost operation.
AirAsia Bhd, Asia’s largest low-cost carrier (LCC), remains coy about a move to KLIA2, the new LCC terminal due to be completed in seven months. AirAsia Malaysia chief executive officer Aireen Omar said the decision will be based on whether the new airport is safe and functional and can facilitate the carrier’s low-cost operation.
“In order for us to be able to move there, we need to work closely with Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd to ensure that the KLIA2 move facilitates our low-cost model,” she said in an interview recently.
However, there are other ways that AirAsia can manage itself should the new airport prove unsuitable for its low-cost model, she added.
Aireen said the carrier has 16 hubs in the Asean region but declined to elaborate on the possibilities of AirAsia relocating its Malaysia operations to one of its regional hubs.
It is indeed worrying that Air Asia is not firm on going to KLIA2 as MAB is working day and night to complete the work. As far as we are concerned it has been a done deal. So lets get on with it.

PENANG IS TOP IN MEDICAL TOURISM

Despite the claim by Tourism Minister that she was responsible for all the arrivals into the country the Opposition state of Penang has put her to shame in medical tourism. It accounted for 60% of 555,000 foreign medical tourists to Malaysia last year for healthcare services.

Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA) chief executive officer Datuk Redza Rafiq Abdul Razak said seven private hospitals from the Penang Health Association (PHA) recorded a revenue of RM280bil in the past year.

“A total of 333,000 people sought medical treatment from hospitals such as Pantai Mutiara Hospital, Lam Wah Ee Hospital, Mount Miriam Cancer Hospital, Loh Guan Lye Specialist Hospital, Gleneagles Hospital, Penang Adventist Hospital and Island Hospital. Among those who came to Penang for medical tourism were from southern Thailand and Australia,” he told a press conference in conjunction with the International Conference for Cancer Caregivers yesterday.

He added that NCIA was collaborating with the association to penetrate into other countries such as Cambodia, Bangladesh and Myanmar. “We are stepping up efforts to promote medical tourism among foreign tourists through several measures including flight incentives which would be announced later,” he said.
Penang Adventist Hospital marketing and business development manager Ng Gim Bee said the state expected an annual growth of 15% on foreign medical tourists to Penang. “Foreigners come to Penang mostly for open heart surgeries and procedures, and dental care,” she said.